Warning Signs
by Artemis Valkyrie
Summary: Endgame: Looking back, the team realizes there might have been a few clues as to who the real villain was... now being continued! The team further discusses the more obvious "surprises"... so far, Lezard and Leone. Who's next?
1. Chapter 1

Warning Signs

A note:

Just a thought I had. Meant to be humorous. Let me know if you'd like to see more little "warning signs."

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"I suppose there were warning signs, " said Hrist. The Valkyrie tsked, bobbing her head to the side. "Pathetic little mortal. Something always seemed off."

Alicia shook her head violently, pouting. "No! I still can't believe it… Lezard was always so nice. He helped us! I'm sure there's a reason for his actions…"

Silmeria placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Alicia… but surely you realize that we were duped. I've seen into his mind, and there is no redemption there." Her eyes flashed dangerously. "He shall be punished for his transgressions. I'm certainly not mourning Odin, but he goes too far."

The plateau they rested on swayed slightly in the air. Lezard's "new world" was certainly not a dreamland. Even the clouds were oddly intimidating.

Rufus pushed himself to his feet, stretching. "Hrist's right, though. I mean, seriously, we really should have seen it coming."

"Hm? How so?" grunted Arngrim.

"Well, for one," said Rufus, "his name's Lezard. _Lezard_. Come on, admit it, as soon as you heard that you must have thought _something_ was off. _My_ first thought was 'Lizard.' It's a villan's name."

"Well… yeah. You have a point." Arngrim rolled his shoulders back. "Plus, there was that one time…

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Alicia had knocked the beast into the air with an upward swipe of her sword. "Now, Lezard!" she cried.

"Frigid Damsel!" he proclaimed, an arm outstretched dramatically towards the monster. Shards flew, whipping his hair back, streaking towards its belly. One, two, three hits… and then time seemed to slow. A final, powerful shard struck the tail, snapping it off at the base.

"Ah ha ha ha ha…. Ah _HAAA_hahahahaha!!! _Kneel down before me_!"

Suddenly all was chaos. Fire, thunder, ice, all swirled and rushed and destroyed, parts of the monster flying every which way. Beneath the snapping and crashing, maniacal laughter peaked.

Eventually it died down. A few remaining limbs faded to light, floating away. Lezard stood, breathing a little heavily, a slight grin on his face. It fell a little, though, when he noticed the other party members staring, silent. Arngrim's mouth even hung open a little.

"My goodness… Sir Lezard…" Alicia stammered.

"That was a bit… extreme, don't you think?" asked Rufus, shouldering his bow.

Lezard waved a hand dismissively. "Well, as Lady Leone would say, the 'passion of the battle consumed me,' yes? And besides, how could I not overreact, with a threat to the Lady Valkyrie? I was simply overcome with the need to defeat the beast as quickly as possible."

Alicia's eyes flashed blue. "The beast was hardly a threat, court mage. Perhaps you could conserve your energy for more dire circumstances?"

Lezard flashed her a winning smile. "Of course, my Lady. I do apologize." He bowed slightly to her. "Shall we continue onwards, then?"

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"…Wow," said Rufus. "Yeah, it was pretty obvious, wasn't it?"


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note- Ha, it was nice to get some positive reviews! I'm sure the "Lezard Revelation" wasn't the only one where you sat there with the controller, going, "duh." I'd like to write a couple more of these... can anyone think of their own facepalm moments while playing?

Leone was mine. Here's a chapter for her :)

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"Hmph," said Silmeria, "I'm not surprised no one caught on to Lezard. No one even caught on to… 'Leone,' was it?"

Hrist glared. "Of course no one caught on. I was cautious. I even enlisted a human to perfect my disguise." She flicked her gaze to the rest of the group. "Again, I was doing my job. I do my job well."

"Yeah. Thanks for that," grunted Arngrim. Hrist lost her steely gaze for a moment.

"Ah- um-"

"Yeah. Whatever."

"Hey!" said Rufus. "It's in the past, right?"

"Well-"

"Hmph-"

"Right," continued Rufus. "Although, yeah, you were a bit obvious, too, Hrist."

Her eyes widened dangerously. "How so?"

"Um, when we met 'Leone,' it had only been, what? A few days since we'd seen you as Hrist? I feel stupid for not realizing…"

"…That it was Hrist with a haircut?" finished Silmeria.

"…Yeah." Rufus shuffled his feet.

"Also," she continued, whirling to face her elder, "you didn't want to bother, maybe, altering your face? No? Maybe your voice? Would it have been too much to at least change your armor color?"

Hrist gaped.

"Honestly," Silmeria continued, her voice rising in volume, "that _whole time_ it's so _glaringly obvious_ it's you, and _no one_ catches on but me? Even you, Alicia. I almost _outright told you._"

Alicia's face fell. Rufus gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"And the rest of you! She slipped up _constantly_ and _none_ of you noticed? When she called me Silmeria instead of Alicia? She _stuttered_ when I rounded on her! And _none_ of you thought that was suspicious? _NO ONE?"_

Silmeria took a breath. The reverberating silence seemed to bring her back to her senses. "Hmph. I… simply thought that was unusual."

Hrist coughed. "Ah… I… I will make note of it. The next time my duty calls for subterfuge, I will certainly be more… inconspicuous about it."

"Thank you," said Silmeria.


End file.
